Fuel gas supply and dispensing kit



Feb. 10, 1970 0.1-. FERGE ET AL FUEL GAS SUPPLY AND DISPENSING KIT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 18, 19.68

INVENTORS. Dan/'e/ 7. Ferge i k J. Bader fate/f E%0//ara 'QGENT Feb. 10, 1970 D. 1'. FERGE ET AL 3,494,713

I I FUEL: GAS SUPPLY AND DISPENSING KIT Filed June 18, 196E 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q I INVENTORS.

d ldm/M AGENT United States Patent 3,494,713 FUEL GAS SUPPLY AND DISPENSING KIT Daniel T. Ferge, Patrick J. Bader, and Robert F. Woollard,

Midland, Mich., assignors to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 18, 1968, Ser. No. 737,972 Int. Cl. F23d 13/24 US. Cl. 431-343 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention provides a fuel gas supply and dispensing kit which has particular utility as a portable silver brazing or soft soldering kit. The kit comprises a combination consisting basically of a fuel gas cylinder; a wire framework cradle for supporting the cylinder in a generally horizontal position; a conventional shutoff valve seated in the dome portion of the cylinder; the valve being modified to contain an upwardly directed dip tube having an open end which extends into a gas vapor pocket formed in the dome of the cylinder; a pressure limiting regulator device mounted on the valve; a torch connected to the pressure regulator by a gas supply hose; and a spring clip for removably connecting the cylinder with the hose. Supporting the cylinder on its side in a cradle eliminates the danger of tipping the cylinder over during operation of the torch and also permits use of the cylinder in much smaller work areas than was heretofore possible. The upwardly directed dip tube component added to the shutoff valve assures that only gas vapor and not the liquid fuel gas in the cylinder will get into the supply hose through the shutoff valve and pressure regulator during operation of the torch. The spring clip provides for connection of the supply hose to a collar on the cylinder, thereby eliminating the possibility of accidentally pulling the hose loose from its connection to the pressure regulator during operation of the torch. Certain members forming a component part of the cradle are adapted to provide a storage rack for the torch when not in use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates broadly to a fuel gas supply and dispensing kit and, more specifically, to a portable brazing or soft soldering kit.

A typical kit as presently used in a brazing or soft soldering operation usually consists of a combination of conventional equipment such as an aluminum cylinder (height about 22 in. and capacity about 7.5 lbs.) as a container for the liquid fuel gas, a shutoff valve on the cylinder, a pressure regulator mounted on the valve, and an air torch connected to the regulator by means of a supply hose. Several disadvantages are inherent in the conventional units presently employed in most commercial applications. For example, the fuel gas cylinder, which is designed to stand upright in normal operation, has a high center of gravity and may topple over if the operator should accidentally jerk the hose toward himself in attempting to gain more slack. The obvious result, of course, can be damage to the cylinder fittings and the possible hazard of leaking fuel gas. Also, when the cylinder is tipped over, it is possible for the liquid fuel to pass through the valve and regulator, particularly under low temperature conditions, and carry through the supply hose into the torch, where it will either extinguish the torch flame or expand the flame beyond safe operating limits. Additionally, the height of the cylinder when standing upright frequently prevents its use in areas of limited clearance such as crawl spaces under buildings, and the like.

3,494,713 Patented Feb. 10, 1970 OBJECT OF THE INVENTION A principal object of the present invention is to provide a fuel gas supply and dispensing kit which is compact, portable, convenient to use and safe.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a fuel gas supply and dispensing kit particularly adapted for a brazing or soldering operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Basically, the fuel gas supply and dispensing kit of the present invention comprises, in combination, a cylinder for containing fuel gas; a cradle means for supporting the cylinder in a generally horizontal position; a valve means seated on the cylinder, the valve means including an upwardly directed open end tube member which extends into a gas vapor pocket formed above a liquid fuel gas when the liquid gas is present in the cylinder; a pressure limiting regulator means mounted on the valve means; a torch means connected to the pressure regulator by a fuel gas supply hose; and a clip means, usually a spring clip, for removably connecting the cylinder with the supply hose. Certain component members of the cradle means also define a storage rack for the torch means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a side elevation view, partly in section of a preferred embodiment of a fuel gas supply and dispensing kit according to the invention. All elements of the kit, except a torch means are shown in this figure.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a cradle means (numeral 14 in FIG. 1), illustrating the function of certain members of the cradle means to provide a storage rack for a torch means.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a spring clip means (numeral 24 in FIG. 1), for removably connecting the gas cylinder with the hose means.

The drawing illustrates only one of numerous embodiments within the scope of this invention and the form shown is selected for convenient illustration and clear demonstration of the principles involved.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the drawing, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral 10 refers generally to a fuel gas supply and dispensing kit of this invention. Basically, kit 10 comprises, in combination, a fuel gas cylinder 12, having a dome portion 12a and a base portion 1212, a cradle 14 for supporting the cylinder; a shutoff valve 16 mounted on cylinder 12; a pressure limiting regulator 18 mounted on valve 16; a gas supply hose 20, which is connected to regulator 18 at one end and a torch 22 (as shown in FIG. 2) at the opposite end; and a spring clip 24 for removably connecting cylinder 12 with hose 20.

Means for supporting cylinder 12 in a generally horizontal position to eliminate the danger of tipping the cylinder over and to permit use of the cylinder in areas of limited space, is provided by the cradle 14. Cradle 14 consists essentially of a wire framework including a set of laterally spaced apart runners 26 and 28, the front end of each runner defining upwardly directed double bend members 30/ and 32, an open loop cross member 34 disposed between and linking members 30 and 32, and the rear end of runners 26 and 28 being linked by a lateral cross member 36. Cross member 36 includes opposing upwardly directed single bends 38 and 40, which terminate in upwardly directed finger portions 42 and 44. The open loop portion of member 34 frictionally engages a shoulder portion 46 formed by an open segment 48 in collar 50 mounted on cylinder 12. In this manner, dome portion 120 of cylinder 12 is raised to a higher position than the base portion 12b to incline the cylinder in the manner desired. The base portion 12b of cylinder 12 is supported on cradle 14 by locking engagement of finger portions 42 and 44 of cross member 36 with oppositely disposed openings 45 in the outer wall of base portion 12b. In addition to providing support for cylinder 12, cradle 14, as shown in the embodiment illustrated herein, includes certain component members which define a convenient rack for storing torch 22 when it is not being used. As best illustrated in FIG. 2 the storage rack is provided by a first double loop cross member 31, disposed laterally between double bend members 30 and 32 and secured to each double bend member at the midpoint of the double bend thereon; and a second double loop cross member 33, which is spaced from the first member 31 and disposed between runners 26 and 28 and connected to each runner at a point approximately midway between the front and rear end of the runner.

Valve 16 may be any of the control or shutoff valves generally used to control flow of fluids, such as fuel gas, from a cylinder. Representative of the type of valve body which may be used in the practice of this invention is that described in US. Patent No. 3,226,079. For purposes of this invention, however, the valve 16 includes a dip tube 52, which comprises a tube member 52a having an elbow bend therein to provide an upwardly directed open end 52b, the opposite end of the tube being joined to an externally threaded coupling 520 which threadedly engages a valve seat 16a in valve 16. As is readily apparent in FIG. 1 of the drawing, the elbow bend in tube member 52a provides that the open end 52b will extend above the surface of the liquid fuel gas 54 in cylinder 12 and lie in the gas vapor pocket 56 formed above the liquid level in dome portion 12a when cylinder 12 is supported in a generally horizontal position in cradle 14. This prevents the possibility of liquid fuel entering the body of valve 16 during operation of the torch 22, thereby providing an additional safety feature.

The primary function of pressure limiting regulator 18 is to maintain the pressure of the fuel gas flowing through the supply hose 20 into torch 22 at a level which will provide optimum conditions for operating the torch (e.g. about 40 p.s.i.g.). While those skilled in the art will appreciate that the pressure regulator 18 is not absolutely essential to the function and operation of the fuel gas supply and dispensing kit of this invention, they will also understand the desirability of including such a regulator in the system to provide the best operating conditions. For example, without a pressure regulator the relatively high pressure of the gas as it flows from the tank must be substantially reduced before entering the torch body by a needle'valve control on the torch body in order for the torch to operate properly. Since this is a manual operation, control of the gas pressure in this fashion is understandably difficult. Furthermore, without the regulator to reduce the relatively high pressure of the gas before reaching the supply hose, the additional strain put on the hose can be detrimental to the hose over a period of time. In general, any pressure limiting regulator, which is suitable for use with fuel gas at the pressure mentioned hereinbefore, may be used. in the practice of this invention. Such regulators are readily commercially available. It is especially preferred, however, to use the regulator device as disclosed in US. Ser. No. 618,915 by T. A. Ruttle, filed Feb. 27, 1967, copending herewith and assigned to the instant assignee.

A spring clip 24 provides means for removably connecting the gas supply hose 20 with cylinder 12 to prevent accidental disconnection of the hose from pressure regulator 18 during operation of the torch 22. As best illustrated in FIG. 3, spring clip .24 comprises basically a single length of spring steel wire which is shaped to define an integral combination of a hook portion 24a, a loop portion 24b and a coil portion 240.

OPERATION To set up the fuel gas supply and dispensing kit 10 for a typical brazing or soldering operation, the shut-0E valve 16 with dip tube 52 attached thereto is screwed into threaded valve seat 16a in cylinder 12 while the cylinder is standing upright. When valve 16 is fully seated in the upright cylinder the elbow bend in dip tube 52 allows the open end 52b to lie in the gas vapor pocket 56 above the level of the fuel gas liquid 54. A clearance of about Ms" between the tip of open end 52b and the inside wall surface of cylinder 12 permits satisfactory operation of dip tube 52 in assuring that the liquid gas 54 will not enter the open end 52b when the full cylinder is supported in the desired lay down or generally inclined position in cradle 14, as best illustrated in FIG. 1. With further reference to FIG. 1, it will be understood that the generally inclined position of cylinder 12, as shown therein, would be preferred to assure that the liquid fuel gas level will remain well below the open end 52b of dip tube 52. It is not intended, however, that the practice of this invention be limited to supporting the cylinder in the precise position as illustrated herein. It would be apparent, for example, that cradle 14 could be modified to support the cylinder in a normal horizontal plane or in various other positions somewhere between horizontal and vertical to provide a fuel gas supply and dispensing kit which will function in the desired manner within the scope of the invention. Pressure regulator 18 can then be mounted on valve 16, with one end of the gas supply hose 20 being coupled to the regulator and the other end of the hose being coupled to torch 22. To support cylinder 12 in cradle 14, the cylinder is secured to the cradle by sliding the open loop portion of member 34 over the shoulder portion 46 of collar 50 and snap fitting finger portions 42 and 44 into oppositely disposed openings 45 provided in the outer wall of base portion 12b of the cylinder. The spring clip 24 can then be used to fasten the supply hose 20 to cylinder 12 by winding coil portion 24c around the hose and guiding hook portion 24a over a peripheral lip 58 on collar 50 and snapping the hook in place at the base of loop portion 24b.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, connecting hose 20 to cylinder 12 with the spring clip 24 will prevent accidental disconnection of the hose from pressure regulator 18 if the operator should give a sudden tug on the hose, since the pulling force exerted on the hose will be transferred directly to the collar 50 on cylinder 12, rather than to the hose connection on regulator 18. It will also be apparent that the'connection provided by spring clip 24 will allow the operator to safely pull the cylinder for short distances, since the cradle 14 will act as a sled when a tugging force is applied to the hose. At the finish of the operation, the hose 20 can be wrapped loosely around collar 50 on cylinder 12, leaving enough slack in the hose to place the torch body 22 in the upper loop portions of double loop members 31 and 33 and wedge it securely therein to provide a storage rack for the torch.

While the inventive concept is specifically described in the foregoing specification and the accompanying drawing, it will be understood that numerous modifications and variations with respect to form, size, arrangement of parts, and operation of mechanical details may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable brazing and soldering kit which comprises, in combination, a cylinder for containing a supply of liquid fuel gas, the cylinder having a dome portion and a base portion, the dome portion including a centrally positioned threaded opening therein and a generally cylindrical collar surrounding the opening and integrally attached to the dome portion at its lower edge, the upper edge of the collar being turned under to define a circumferential lip, a cut-out portion of the collar under the lip defining an open segment portion, the base portion of th cylinder including oppositely disposed openings in the outer wall thereof,

cradle means vfor supporting the cylinder in a position generally slightly inclined from horizontal, such that the dome portion of the cylinder is higher than the base portion thereof, the inclination of the cylinder thereby forming a gas vapor pocket in the dome portion thereof, the cradle means comprising a wire framework including a set of laterally spaced apart runners, the front end of each runner defining an upwardly directed double bend member, an open loop cross member horizontally disposed between and linking the double bend members, wherein the open loop member frictionally engages a shoulder of the collar wall adjacent the open segment portion therein, the rear end of each runner being linked by a lateral cross member having opposing upwardly directed single bend members terminating in inwardly directed finger portions, wherein the finger portions thereof lockingly engage the openings in the base portion of the cylinder,

valve means threadedly seated in the opening in the dome portion and having a tube member extending therefrom, the tube member having an elbow bend therein defining an upwardly directed open end which projects into the gas vapor pocket within the cylinder,

a pressure limiting regulator means mounted on the valve means,

a torch means connected to the regulator means by a fuel gas supply hose,

a spring clip means for removably connecting the gas supply hose to the gas cylinder, the spring clip means comprising a single length of wire shaped to define an integral combination of a loop portion, a coil portion, and a hook portion, the coil portion adapted to engage the gas supply hose and the loop portion adapted to engage the collar of the gas cylinder, the hook portion being adapted to engage and secure the loop portion to the collar,

the cradle means further includes a first double loop References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,772,254 8/1930 Imfeld 431203 2,857,905 10/1958 Vanderbeek 126-38 2,867,206 1/1959 Mendez 12644- 3,179,156 4/1965 Weiss et al. 431-343 3,294,079 12/1966 Thompson 12638 EDWARD 1. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner 

